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Fabric

SYSTEMS CHALLENGE STATEMENT

Forum Dates:

September 26-28, 2013

At LAUNCH we see a future where the making of things has a positive impact on human prosperity and planetary sustainability.

Summary

Founding partners NASA, NIKE, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the US Department of State formed LAUNCH in an effort to bring collective genius, unprecedented networks, and new resources to overcome some of humanity’s toughest sustainability challenges.

With this LAUNCH System Challenge: Fabric, LAUNCH seeks innovations that will transform the system of fabrics to one that advances equitable global economic growth, drives human prosperity and replenishes the planet’s resources.

We are interested in innovations with potential to scale in 2 years, as well as game-changing early stage technologies and prototypes. Innovations can be business models, financial instruments, technologies and programs that accelerate research, education and capacity building.

Specifically, LAUNCH System: Fabric seeks innovations in:

The materials of which fabrics are made with a focus on positive social and environmental impact:

Multi-purpose synthetic and
bio-synthetic materials.

Smart and/or self-healing
materials.

Technical fabrics with novel or
surprising attributes.

Fabrics that efficiently and
effectively enable recycling.

Applications that eliminate
toxins in fabrics.

Low or positive environmental
impact “feedstocks.”

Models that accelerate the
development of low or positive
environmental impact fabrics.

Data generation and capture
technologies and mechanisms
that enable traceability across
a product or fabric’s lifecycle.

Decision support and educational
tools that guide positive impact
design and inform better choices
of chemistries and materials.

Open technology platforms to
enable sharing, collaboration,
contribution and unlimited
accessibility to data that improves
the analysis of sustainability
impacts and stimulates an open
data ecosystem.

The Fabric Council

LAUNCH is hosting its first micro-challenge, directed at university students, to help us uncover game-changing innovations that can unlock the barriers to the system of materials and the ways in which they are made. Congratulations to CapX team from the Indian School of Business, the 2013 finalists for the Open Data Micro-Challenge.

The CapX team is looking for partners to prototype and pilot the online platform in a textile manufacturing hub.

Stage of innovation: Concept

Open Data Micro-Challenge

The absence of information and tools can slow down accurate and timely decision-making. It can also prevent the system from identifying better ways of operating. A lack of data increases risk. Access to data can unlock new opportunity. It can change the way things are made. It can change what materials things are made from. Both for the better. We believe new ways of capturing and using data can uncover opportunities and enable innovation within the materials supply chain. LAUNCH is looking to positively impact the materials supply chain by harnessing new, innovative solutions for:

Capturing data in new and different ways

Generating new data, ripe for analysis

Analyzing data to deliver greater insight

Our goal is to increase appreciation for and understanding of data in the materials system. We are working to enable better decisions throughout the materials supply chain – raw materials suppliers, materials processors, scientists who imagine new materials, creators who design products with materials, consumers who buy and use products, and innovators who close the chain through recycling and reuse.